News

By Mary Thurwachter
    
Council members in Lantana talked about rescinding the noise variance they approved in January so that contractors, by working at night, could more easily meet their construction deadlines for the Ocean Avenue Bridge.
    Although clearly annoyed when it looked like the contractor’s representative was a no-show at the March 11 meeting, when the topic was up for discussion, the town chose to take no action.
    “They don’t come and thumb their nose at us,” said council member Tom Deringer. “If we delay, we’re the bad guys.”
    As part of the agreement, which permits work related noise to occur from 6 to 11 p.m. until May 31, GLF Construction agreed to complete all pile driving no later than Jan. 25. But the pounding continued well into February, council members said, and that was a clear violation of the agreement.
    “I’ve gotten complaints about the pile driving,” Mayor Dave Stewart said. “I wish they were here with answers as to why.”
    After a 30-minute council discussion, GLF project manager Andres Sosa granted that wish, arriving at the council chamber. Sosa admitted the contractor was in violation of the agreement.
    “Do you still need to work evenings and do you still need to drive piles?” Stewart asked Sosa.
    Sosa said yes, that only 55 of the 100 piles had been driven at that date, and that it could take another month to finish that phase of the job.
    Despite any annoyances or problems, the council said it wanted the bridge to be completed on schedule. Sosa assured them it would be done in November.
    “All you have to do is stop pile driving after 6 p.m.,” Stewart told Sosa.
    Palm Beach County is building the $32 million replacement bridge, which will be 11 feet higher than its 62-year-old predecessor. The old bridge closed in March 2012.
    In other news, the council awarded a $47,440 contract to Matthews Consulting Inc.  for the engineering phase for improvements to address drainage problems in the municipal beach parking lot.
    The parking lot has a history of flooding after storms. The contract covers design, surveying, and permitting for drainage and paving improvements.